Decal transferring method and decal transferring device

ABSTRACT

Provided is a transferring and molding method capable of forming a molded article on which a pattern is transferred in a prescribed position by automatically correcting a shift when there is produced a molded article on which the pattern is transferred with a shift. When the pattern of a molded article has a shift, the shift dimension and the shift direction of the pattern of the molded article as digital values, are detected and positional correction by automatically moving the transfer film by the detected shift dimension toward the side opposite from the detected shift direction and thereafter transfers the pattern in the prescribed position of the molded article that has undergone the transferring and molding is carried out.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a transferring and molding method andtransferring and molding apparatus, which places a transfer film betweendies and transfers a pattern provided on the transfer film onto a moldedarticle concurrently with molding.

BACKGROUND ART

The transferring and molding apparatus disclosed in Japanese ExaminedPatent Publication No. 01-59095 is known.

This transferring and molding apparatus includes a movable die mountedon a movable platen, a stationary die mounted on a stationary platen, aninjection nozzle, a transfer film, a film feeding unit mounted above themovable platen so as to move in a widthwise direction of the transferfilm, a film winding unit mounted below the movable platen so as to movein a widthwise direction of the transfer film, and a position detectingunit for the transfer film.

The transfer film is moved in a lengthwise direction with the diesopened, and stopped at the transfer position when the position detectingunit has detected the position of the transfer film, after which amolten resin is injected from the injection nozzle with the dies closedso as to hold the transfer film therebetween, to transfer the patternprovided on the transfer film onto a molded article concurrently withthe molding, and to thereby produce a molded article having the patterntransferred from the transfer film at a predetermined position.

In the aforementioned transferring and molding apparatus, the transferfilm is positioned in the transfer position as follows.

More specifically, the position detecting unit is provided including alengthwise direction sensor that detects a lengthwise direction mark ofthe transfer film, and a first and a second widthwise direction sensorsthat detect a widthwise direction mark of the transfer film, all ofwhich are optical sensors. For the lengthwise positioning, the transferfilm is moved lengthwise until the lengthwise direction sensor detectsthe lengthwise direction mark of the transfer film, at which point thefilm feeding unit and the film winding unit stop the movement of thetransfer film.

For the widthwise positioning, the film feeding unit is moved widthwisewith respect to the transfer film until the first widthwise directionsensor detects the widthwise direction mark of the transfer film, andthe film winding unit is moved widthwise with respect to the transferfilm until the second widthwise direction sensor detects the widthwisedirection mark of the film, and once the first and the second widthwisedirection sensors have detected the widthwise direction mark, the filmfeeding unit and the film winding unit are stopped.

That is, the transferring and molding method with the transferring andmolding apparatus is a method for repeating the transferring and moldingprocesses of positioning the transfer film in the transfer position bymoving the transfer film in the die open state, thereafter placing thetransfer film in the die closed state and then injecting the moltenresin into the cavity for the transfer of the pattern of the transferfilm in the prescribed position of the molded article concurrently withmolding.

The conventional transferring and molding method has a process forpositioning the transfer film in the transfer position so as to make thepattern of the transfer film position face the prescribed position ofthe die (molding section). Even through this process, the patterntransferred onto the molded article is sometimes shifted as aconsequence of repetitively carrying out the aforementioned transferringand molding process.

For example, when wrinkles occur on the transfer film during thetransferring and molding, a pattern shift occurs. The wrinkles of thetransfer film are prominently created especially when the configurationof the molded article is bent in a convex shape in placing the transferfilm between the dies or when a plurality of molding sections are formedon the die.

As described above, since the positioning of the transfer film isperformed based on the position of the lengthwise direction mark andwidthwise direction mark provided on the transfer film in theconventional transferring and molding method, the position of thetransferred pattern is often shifted while repeating the transferringand molding process. Such a position shift can be corrected bycorrecting the transfer position for the transfer film, however thetransferring and molding process has to be suspended for therepositioning of the transfer film.

The present invention is made in view of the aforementioned problems,and the object thereof is to provide a transferring and molding methodand transferring and molding apparatus capable of producing a moldedarticle on which a pattern is transferred in a prescribed position byautomatically correcting the position of a transfer film when there isproduced a molded article on which the transferred pattern is shifted.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provideda transferring and molding method comprising:

executing transferring and molding by positioning a transfer position ofa transfer film by moving the transfer film in a lengthwise direction ofthe transfer film that has a pattern and at least one of a lengthwisedirection mark and a widthwise direction mark, holding the transfer filmbetween a stationary die and a movable die, and transferring the patternonto a molded article concurrently with injection molding of a moltenresin into a cavity located between both the dies closed to each otherfor forming the molded article;

obtaining a first digital value by detecting a shift dimension and ashift direction of the pattern of the molded article that has undergonethe transferring and molding;

obtaining an amount of shift of the mark in form of a second digitalvalue;

obtaining a value and a direction, which are to be corrected a transferposition of the transfer film, from both the first and second digitalvalues; and

carrying out correction with film movement of the transfer film based onthe value and the direction to be corrected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe transferring and molding method as defined in the first aspect,further comprising:

obtaining the second digital value includes utilizing a laser linesensor for detection; and obtaining position information of the transferfilm located in the transfer position, according to a shielding ratio ofthe mark provided on the transfer film located in the transfer positionwith respect to the laser line sensor; and

obtaining the value and the direction to be corrected includescalculating the shielding ratio of the mark provided on the transferfilm located on a presumed position where the transfer film is to belocated after the correction, with respect to the laser line sensor.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe transferring and molding method as defined in the first aspect,further comprising:

obtaining the first digital value includes generating an image of themolded article; and obtaining based on the image the shift amount andthe shift direction between the actual position of the patterntransferred onto the molded article and a reference position where thepattern is supposed to be.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe transferring and molding method as defined in one of the firstaspect to the third aspect, further comprising:

after the correction, executing transferring and molding by positioninganother transfer position of the transfer film by moving the transferfilm in the lengthwise direction of the transfer film, holding thetransfer film between the stationary die and the movable die, andtransferring the pattern onto another molded article concurrently withinjection molding of the molten resin into the cavity of both the diesclosed to each other for forming the another molded article;

obtaining a third digital value by detecting again a shift dimension anda shift direction of the pattern of the another molded article that hasundergone the transferring and molding;

when the detected third digital value is outside a preset tolerancerange, obtaining an amount of shift of the mark in form of a fourthdigital value;

obtaining a value and a direction, which are to be corrected a transferposition of the transfer film, from both the third and fourth digitalvalues; and

repeating the correction and the transferring and molding until thethird digital value falls within the tolerance range.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provideda transferring and molding apparatus comprising:

an injection molding section for executing a transferring and moldingoperation by putting a stationary die and a movable die into a dieclosed state and a die open state and for injecting a molten resin intoa cavity of both the dies in the die closed state to form a moldedarticle concurrently with transferring onto the molded article a patternof a transfer film which has the pattern to be transferred onto themolded article and at least one of a lengthwise direction mark and awidthwise direction mark;

a transfer film moving section for moving and positioning the transferfilm in a lengthwise direction thereof with respect to a die partingsurface of the die of the injection molding section before thetransferring and molding operation and for moving the transfer film inat least one of the lengthwise direction and a widthwise direction ofthe transfer film during positional correction;

a pattern detection section for obtaining a first digital value bydetecting a shift dimension and a shift direction of the pattern of themolded article that has undergone the transferring and moldingoperation; and

a sensor section for obtaining an amount of shift of the mark in form ofa second digital value,

wherein the transfer film is moved in at least one of a lengthwisedirection and a widthwise direction of the transfer film by the transferfilm moving section based on a value and a direction to be correctedwhich are obtained from both the first and second digital values.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe transferring and molding apparatus as defined in the fifth aspect,further comprising:

the transfer film moving section includes a film feeding unit that feedsthe transfer film in a lengthwise direction thereof into between thestationary die and the movable die, a film winding unit that windsthereon the transfer film delivered from the film feeding unit, a firstmoving mechanism that movably supports the film feeding unit in awidthwise direction of the transfer film, and a second moving mechanismthat movably supports the film winding unit in a widthwise direction ofthe transfer film.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there isprovided the transferring and molding apparatus as defined in the fifthaspect, further comprising:

the sensor section includes a laser line sensor, so as to detect ashielding ratio of the mark provided on the transfer film located in thetransfer position with respect to the laser line sensor and to therebyobtain the second digital value representing the position information ofthe transfer film located on the transfer position, and the value andthe direction to be corrected is obtained in a form of the shieldingratio of the mark provided on the transfer film located on a presumedposition where the transfer film is to be located after the correction,with respect to the laser line sensor.

According to a eighth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe transferring and molding apparatus as defined in the fifth aspect,further comprising:

the pattern detection section generates an image of the molded article,and obtains based on the image the shift amount and the shift directionbetween the actual position of the pattern transferred onto the moldedarticle and a reference position where the pattern is supposed to be.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe transferring and molding apparatus as defined in one of the fifthaspect to eighth aspect, further comprising:

the injection molding section moves, after the correction, the transferfilm in a lengthwise direction thereof to determine another transferposition, and injects the molten resin into the cavity defined by thestationary die and the movable die closed to each other with thetransfer film held therebetween, so as to transfer the pattern ontoanother molded article concurrently with the molding;

the pattern detection section detects a shift dimension and shiftdirection of the pattern of another molded article that has undergonethe transferring and molding process so as to obtain a third digitalvalue;

the sensor section obtains a fourth digital value representing the shiftamount of the mark, when the detected third digital value falls outsidea predetermined tolerance range; and

the transfer film moving section repetitively moves the transfer filmfor correction until the third digital value falls inside the tolerancerange, based on the value and the direction to be corrected, withrespect to the transfer position of the transfer film obtained from thethird and the fourth digital values.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is providedthe transferring and molding apparatus as defined in the fifth aspect,further comprising:

a storage unit that stores a plurality of first digital values obtainedfrom a plurality of detections of the shift dimension and the shiftdirection performed by the pattern detection section; and

an average calculation section that calculates the average value of theplurality of first digital values stored in the storage unit;

wherein the transfer film is moved based on the value and the directionto be corrected with respect to the transfer position of the transferfilm obtained from the average value and the second digital value.

According to the present invention, when the pattern of the moldedarticle is shifted, the transfer film is automatically moved by theshift dimension in the opposite direction to the shift direction.Therefore, the pattern is transferred at the predetermined position onthe molded article b that subsequently undergoes the transferring andmolding process.

Consequently, when a molded article on which the position of thetransferred pattern is shifted is produced, the position of the transferfilm is automatically corrected so that the pattern is transferred atthe predetermined position, which eliminates the need to suspend thetransferring and molding process and maintains high accuracy inpositioning of the pattern to be transferred onto the molded article.

Further, according to the present invention, the shift is detected againafter the positional correction of the transfer film, and the positionalcorrection is repeated again when there is a shift outside the tolerancerange. Therefore, the position of the transfer film can be correctedinto the tolerance range, by performing the transferring and moldingprocess after the positional correction.

Further, since the transfer position of the pattern is only slightlydifferent among the molded articles produced through successivetransferring and molding process, it is possible to store the firstdigital value and to perform the positional correction of the transferfilm based on an average value thereof, thus to correct the positionshift of the pattern in high accuracy over an entirety of the successivetransferring and molding process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

These and other aspects and features of the present invention willbecome clear from the following description taken in conjunction withthe preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a transferring and molding apparatus accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line A-A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A is a sectional view showing a structure of a transfer film usedin the transferring and molding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3B is a schematic perspective view showing positional relationsbetween the transfer film and sensors used in the transferring andmolding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C are explanatory views of the detection of alengthwise direction position performed by the transferring and moldingapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 5A, 5B, and 5C are explanatory views of the detection of awidthwise direction position performed by the transferring and moldingapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 6A, 6B, and 6C are explanatory views of pattern shifts on moldedarticles produced by the transferring and molding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line B-B of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a detailed sectional view taken along the line C-C of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a film winding mechanism included in thetransferring and molding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a sensor mounting section included in thetransferring and molding apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the mounting section of a firstwidthwise direction sensor included in the transferring and moldingapparatus of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram of a control circuit included in thetransferring and molding apparatus of FIG. 1.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Before proceeding with the description of the present invention, it isto be noted that same components are given identical reference numeralsthroughout the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an injection molding section 100 includes astationary die 2 mounted on a stationary platen 1, a movable die 4mounted on a movable platen 3, and an injection nozzle 5 for injecting amolten resin into a cavity defined by the dies.

In this embodiment, the stationary platen 1 is fixed to a base plate 6,and the movable platen 3 is guided so as to contact or separate from thestationary platen 1, by four tie bars 7 fixed to the stationary platen1.

By moving the movable platen 3, a parting surface 2 a of the stationarydie 2 and the parting surface 4 a of the movable die 4 are brought inpressure contact with each other so as to be put into a die closed statein which the cavity is defined by molding sections of the dies (amolding section 2 b of the stationary die 2 and a molding section 4 b ofthe movable die 4) and a die open state in which the parting surfaces 2a and 4 a are separated from each other.

Also, although the cavity is basically formed by the stationary die 2and the movable die 4 in the injection molding section 100, anadditional member such as an intermediate plate may be employed.

A film feeding unit 10 and a film winding unit 11 mounted on the movableplaten 3 constitute a film moving section for moving the transfer film20 with respect to a parting surface 4 a of the movable die 4 (i.e.,moving the transfer film 20 in the lengthwise direction of the film).

The transfer film 20 is moved in parallel to the parting surface 4 a ofthe movable die 4, with a spacing therefrom.

The film feeding unit 10 and the film winding unit 11 are disposed so asto move in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of themovable die 4 (i.e., in the widthwise direction of the transfer film20), carried by a first movement mechanism 12 and a second movementmechanism 13, respectively. In other words, the film feeding unit 10 andthe film winding unit 11 are activated in the widthwise direction of thefilm by the first movement mechanism 12 and the second movementmechanism 13, thus to constitute a film moving section which moves thetransfer film 20 in the widthwise direction thereof.

In this embodiment, the film feeding unit 10 is mounted above themovable platen 3, and the transfer film 20 is moved in the widthwisedirection by the first movement mechanism 12.

The film winding unit 11 is provided with a film tension mechanism 14mounted below the movable platen 3 and a film winding mechanism 15mounted on the baseplate 6, and the film tension mechanism 14 is movedin the widthwise direction of the transfer film 20 by the secondmovement mechanism 13.

The transfer film 20 is separated from the parting surface 4 a of themovable die 4 and moved so as to become parallel to the surface.

Without limitation to the above arrangement, it is acceptable to mountthe film feeding unit 10 below or on a lateral side portion of themovable platen 3 and mount the film winding unit 11 above or on theother lateral side of the movable platen 3 or to mount the film feedingunit 10 and the film winding unit 11 on the baseplate 6 or thestationary platen 1.

Accordingly, the film moving section can move the transfer film 20 inthe lengthwise direction with respect to the die parting surface, beforeperforming the transferring and molding process, and preferably in thewidthwise direction with respect to the die parting surface (withrespect to the parting surface 2 a of the stationary die 2 or theparting surface 4 a of the movable die 4) during the transferring andmolding, and the transfer film 20 can be moved at least one of thelengthwise direction and the widthwise direction during the positionalcorrection of the transfer film 20 described later.

The transfer film will now be described. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B,the transfer film 20 has a plurality of patterns 21 longitudinallyaligned on a surface of a base film 20 a, with an interval. Since thepattern 21 is released from the base film 20 a to be transferred to themolded article in the molding process performed in the injection moldingsection 100, the transfer film 20 includes a release protection layer 20b provided on the base film 20 a, on which a pattern ink layer 20 cconstituting the pattern is provided. Also, on the pattern ink layer 20c an adhesive layer 20 d is provided, so that the adhesive layer 20 dadheres to the molten resin upon contacting the same when executing theinjection molding, and thereby the pattern ink layer 20 c is separatedfrom the base film together with the release protection layer 20 b, thusto be transferred onto the molded article.

The pattern 21 provided on the transfer film 20 is not limited to aprint pattern, but a metal deposition layer may be employed so as toconstitute the pattern ink layer 20 c.

The pattern ink layer 20 c may be any one of patterns, characters,symbols and so on used for the conventional transfer films, including acombination of a metal deposition layer and a print pattern.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the transfer film 20 is also provided with alengthwise direction mark 22 and a widthwise direction mark 23, whichserve for detection of the position of the transfer film 20 when thepattern 21 is transferred onto the molded article concurrently with themolding, i.e. the transfer position of the transfer film 20.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the lengthwise direction mark 22 (3 mm in width)provided at intervals on one side in the widthwise direction of thetransfer film 20, and the widthwise direction marks 23 (3 mm indetecting width) is continuously provided on the other side in thelengthwise direction.

Although the transfer film 20 is transparent and the marks 22 and 23 arenontransparent in this embodiment, the marks 22 and 23 may betranslucent. Moreover, it is acceptable that the transfer film 20 isnontransparent or translucent and the marks 22 and 23 are transparent.

This position detecting unit for the transfer film is provided with alengthwise direction sensor 30 and first and second widthwise directionsensors 31, 32 attached to the die, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, to beused to detect the marks 22, 23 of the transfer film, and hence theposition of the transfer film.

An example of each sensor will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lengthwise direction sensor 30 and thewidthwise direction sensors, such as the first and the second widthwisedirection sensors 31, 32, are located close to the die, for example themovable die 4. It is to be noted that it is not always necessary toprovide two widthwise sensors, but just one, or three or more widthwisedirection sensors may be provided.

The lengthwise direction sensor 30 is mounted on one side in thewidthwise direction a little closer to the upper portion of the movabledie 4. The first widthwise direction sensor 31 is mounted on the otherside in the widthwise direction a little closer to the upper portion ofthe movable die 4, and the second widthwise direction sensor 32 ismounted on the other side in the widthwise direction a little closer tothe lower portion of the movable die 4.

The lengthwise direction sensor 30 and the first and second widthwisedirection sensors 31 and 32 detect the lengthwise direction mark 22 andthe widthwise direction mark 23, respectively, of the transfer film 20and detect the amounts of shift with respect to the respective marks.

For example, the sensors are each constituted of a laser line sensor(detecting width 3 mm), and provided with a light emitter 33 and a lightdetector 34. The light emitter 33 and the light detector 34 are locatedon both sides in the thickness direction of the transfer film 20 asshown in FIG. 3. Light from the light emitter 33 is received by thelight detector 34 through the transfer film 20.

The lengthwise direction sensor 30 is oriented such that an extensionthereof is aligned with the lengthwise direction of the transfer film,and the size (size in the lengthwise direction of the film) of lightfrom the light emitter 33 of the lengthwise direction sensor 30 isgenerally equal to the size (size in the lengthwise direction of thefilm) of the lengthwise direction mark 22. The first and the secondwidthwise direction sensors 31, 32 are oriented such that an extensionthereof is aligned with the widthwise direction of the transfer film,and the size (width) of light from the light emitter 33 of each of thefirst and second widthwise direction sensors 31 and 32 is generallyequal to the size (width) of the widthwise direction mark 23.

With this arrangement, in the case where the lengthwise direction mark22 and the lengthwise direction sensor 30 coincide with each other whenthe transfer film 20 is located in the transfer position, the light 33 aof the light emitter 33 is completely interrupted by the lengthwisedirection mark 22 as shown in FIG. 4A, and the quantity of lightreceived by the light detector 34 is zero.

In the case where the lengthwise direction mark 22 goes beyond thelengthwise direction sensor 30 when the transfer film 20 is located inthe transfer position, the light 33 a of the light emitter 33 is shiftedupward with respect to the lengthwise direction mark 22 as shown in FIG.4B, and the light detector 34 receives the light of the quantitycorresponding to the amount of shift S₁. Therefore, a shielding ratio ofthe mark with respect to the light detector 34 can be detected from thequantity of the received light.

In the case where the lengthwise direction mark 22 falls short of thelengthwise direction sensor 30 when the transfer film 20 is located inthe transfer position, the light 33 a of the light emitter 33 is shifteddownward with respect to the lengthwise direction mark 22 as shown inFIG. 4C, and the light detector 34 receives light corresponding inquantity to the amount of shift S₂. Therefore, a shielding ratio of themark with respect to the light detector 34 can be detected from thequantity of the received light.

In the state shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the lengthwise position of thetransfer film can be detected based on the shielding ratio of the mark22 with respect to the light detector 34. Also, keeping the historicrecord of the shielding ratio of the light detector 34 while thetransfer film moves in the lengthwise direction allows detecting theshift direction of the transfer film.

Specifically, in the transferring and molding apparatus shown in FIG. 1,since the transfer film is moved downward from an upper position, themagnitude of S₂ shown in FIG. 4C gradually becomes smaller, by which theshielding ratio of the light detector 34 gradually increases, untilreaching the maximum in the state shown in FIG. 4A, and when thelengthwise direction mark 22 moves further downward to reach the stateshown in FIG. 4B, the magnitude of S₁ gradually becomes larger with themovement of the mark, by which the shielding ratio of the light detector34 gradually decreases.

Detecting thus the positional relation between the lengthwise directionsensor 30 constituted of a laser line sensor and the lengthwise positionof the mark leads to detecting the shift dimension and shift directionof the transfer film in the lengthwise direction. Therefore, thelengthwise direction sensor 30 is the sensor section that detects thetransfer position in the lengthwise direction of the transfer film 20 asa digital value.

In the case where the widthwise direction mark 23 coincides with thefirst widthwise direction sensor 31 when the transfer film 20 is locatedin the transfer position, the light 33 a of the light emitter 33 iscompletely interrupted by the widthwise direction mark 23 as shown inFIG. 5A, and the quantity of light received by the light detector 34 iszero.

In the case where the widthwise direction mark 23 is shifted to one sidein the widthwise direction with respect to the first widthwise directionsensor 31 when the transfer film 20 is located in the transfer position,the light 33 a of the light emitter 33 is shifted to the other side inthe widthwise direction of the widthwise direction mark 23 as shown inFIG. 5B, and the light detector 34 receives light of the quantity ofreceived light corresponding to the amount of shift S₃. Therefore, ashielding ratio of the mark with respect to the light detector 34 can bedetected from the quantity of the received light.

In the case where the widthwise direction mark 23 is shifted to theother side in the widthwise direction with respect to the firstwidthwise direction sensor 31 when the transfer film 20 is located inthe transfer position, the light 33 a of the light emitter 33 is shiftedto the one side in the widthwise direction of the widthwise directionmark 23 as shown in FIG. 5C, and the light detector 34 receives light ofthe quantity of received light corresponding to the amount of shift S₄.Therefore, a shielding ratio of the mark with respect to the lightdetector 34 can be detected from the quantity of the received light.

In the state shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the widthwise position of thetransfer film can be detected based on the shielding ratio of the mark23 with respect to the light detector 34. Also, keeping the historicrecord of the shielding ratio of the light detector 34 while thetransfer film moves in the widthwise direction allows detecting theshift direction of the transfer film.

The same applies to the positional relation between the second widthwisedirection sensor 32 and the widthwise direction mark 23, and theposition of the widthwise direction mark 23 can be measured by thesecond widthwise direction sensor 32.

Consequently, detecting the positional relation between the first andthe second widthwise direction sensors 31, 32 constituted of laser linesensors and the widthwise position of the mark leads to detecting theshift dimension and shift direction of the transfer film in thewidthwise direction. Therefore, the first and second widthwise directionsensor sections 31 and 32 are the sensors that detect the transferposition in the widthwise direction of the transfer film as digitalvalues.

Hereunder, the transferring and molding method will be described.

The transferring and molding method of the present invention includes atransferring and molding process, a molded article inspection processand a transfer film position correction process.

The transfer process is repetitively carried out in the same way as inthe conventional case, i.e. by successively feeding the transfer filmhaving the pattern 21 aligned with an interval into between thestationary die 2 and the movable die 4.

For example, the method is comprised of: a first process for moving thetransfer film 20 with the stationary die 2 and the movable die 4 put inthe die open state and putting the pattern 21 in the transfer positionwhere the pattern 21 faces the molding section of the die of, forexample, the molding section 2 b of the stationary die 2; a secondprocess for holding the transfer film 20 between the dies by moving themovable die 4 after the first process and putting the dies into the dieclosed state and transferring the pattern 21 onto a molded articleconcurrently with molding by injecting a molten resin into its cavity“a”; and a third process for taking out the molded article on which thepattern 21 is transferred after the dies are put into the die openstate.

The transfer film 20 is brought into the transfer position by presettingthe position of the transfer film 20 in, for example, the widthwisedirection, presetting the quantity of movement by the film movingsection and intermittently moving the film by the quantity of movementin the lengthwise direction. The positioning is performed by detectionof the position of the marks 22, 23 provided on the transfer film by therespective sensors 30, 31, 32, as will be described later.

The aforementioned molded article inspection process is carried out atany time in the process of detecting the shift dimension and the shiftdirection of the pattern of the molded article that has undergone thetransferring and molding in the aforementioned transferring and moldingprocess. The transferring and molding process is carried out after thetransfer film position correction process is carried out when there is ashift, and the aforementioned transferring and molding process iscarried out when there is no shift.

The shift dimension herein stands for the amount of deviation of thepattern from the predetermined position, and the shift direction standsfor the direction in which the pattern is shifted, viewed from thepredetermined position.

For example, if the pattern 21 transferred onto the molded article “b”is shifted in the lengthwise direction with respect to a prescribedposition “c” indicated by the imaginary line as shown in FIG. 6A, then ashift dimension L₁ in the lengthwise direction is measured, and theforward shift in the lengthwise direction (shift direction) is detected.This lengthwise direction is the lengthwise direction of the transferfilm 20.

If the pattern 21 transferred onto the molded article “b” is shifted inthe widthwise direction with respect to the prescribed position “c”indicated by the imaginary line as shown in FIG. 6B, then a shiftdimension H₁ in the widthwise direction is measured, and the shifttoward one side in the widthwise direction (shift direction) isdetected. This widthwise direction is the widthwise direction of thetransfer film 20.

It is preferable to measure the shift dimension H₁ in the widthwisedirection in each of the lengthwise forward portion 21 a and thelengthwise rearward portion 21 b of the transferred pattern 21 in FIG.6B.

With this arrangement, it can be perceived that the pattern 21 has beentransferred aslant by a difference |H₂−H₃| between a shift dimension H₂in the widthwise direction of the lengthwise forward portion 21 a and ashift dimension H₃ in the widthwise direction of the lengthwise rearwardportion 21 b as shown in FIG. 6C.

Also, while the widthwise shift dimension H₁ is measured at a pluralityof points so as to detect the diagonal shift in the above example,measuring the lengthwise shift dimension at a plurality of points alsoallows detecting the shift dimension H₁. In addition, when measuring theshift dimension at a plurality of points, the number of points is notlimited to two, but the measurement may be performed at three or morepoints.

The above measurement of the shift dimensions L₁ and H₁ and thedetection of the shift direction are carried out in a pattern detectionsection for image processing or the like using an image recognitiondevice of ITV or the like. The pattern detection section shoots themolded article when or after taking out the molded article, andcalculates the shift dimension of the pattern on the molded article inthe form of a digital value. The ITV herein referred to stands for animage recognition device that shoots the molded article with a TV cameraand analyzes the shot image so as to detect the position of the pattern.To be more detailed, the device shoots the molded article at an anglethat covers the pattern, and recognizes the color or shape of the shotimage and measures the distance from the outer frame of the moldedarticle to the pattern in the image data, to thus measure the positionof the pattern on the molded article. The information on the measuredposition of the pattern is compared with the predetermined position,based on which the shift dimension and shift direction are output indigital values.

This molded article inspection process may be carried out for one moldedarticle selected from a plurality of molded articles, after theaforementioned transferring and molding process has been repetitivelyexecuted a plurality of times, i.e., after the plurality of moldedarticles have been produced.

For example, the above process is carried out for the next one moldedarticle after ten molded articles have been discharged.

Moreover, the above process may be carried out every one transferringand molding process, i.e., every detected molded article. That is, themolded article inspection process is carried out at any time.

The transfer film position correction process is a process for carryingout positional correction by moving the transfer film 20 on the basis ofthe shift dimension in the transfer position of the transfer film andthe aforementioned shift dimensions L₁ and H₁ of the pattern 21 of themolded article.

For example, to determine a reference position of the transfer positionfor the transfer film during an initial stage upon activating theapparatus, the shielding ratio for the respective sensors 30, 31, 32 maybe set at 50%, and upon calculating the transfer position for thetransfer film that allows correcting the shift dimension L₁, H₁ of thepattern 21 on the molded article, the transfer film is moved such thatthe respective sensors 30, 31, 32 gains the predetermined shieldingratio at the calculated position.

For example, when the pattern 21 transferred onto the molded article bis shifted forward in the lengthwise direction as shown in FIG. 6A, theposition of the transfer film 20 that allows correcting the shiftdimension L1 is detected, and the transfer film 20 is moved backward inthe lengthwise direction such that the shielding ratio of the transferfilm position detecting unit becomes that value, at which point themovement of the transfer film is stopped.

It is preferable to detect the lengthwise direction position of thetransfer film 20 after the positional correction by the lengthwisedirection mark 22 and the lengthwise direction sensor 30 after themovement of the transfer film 20 and detect the quantity of movement inthe lengthwise direction of the transfer film 20 by a difference betweenthe detected lengthwise direction position and the aforementionedtransfer position in the lengthwise direction before the positionalcorrection detected as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C.

This quantity of movement is compared with the shift dimension L₁, andif they do not coincide with each other, then they are made to coincidewith each other by moving again the transfer film 20 in the lengthwisedirection by the difference.

By the above operation, the positional correction can be achieved byaccurately moving the transfer film 20 in the lengthwise direction bythe shift dimension L₁.

That is, since the transfer position and the position after thepositional correction of the transfer film 20 can be detected as digitalvalues, the positional difference can be detected as a digital value.

Therefore, the transfer film 20 can be moved so that the shift dimensionand the positional difference coincide with each other, and thereby thepattern shift on the molded article can be corrected.

Moreover, if the pattern 21 transferred onto the molded article “b” isshifted to one side in the widthwise direction as shown in FIG. 6B, thenpositional correction is carried out by moving the transfer film 20 tothe other side in the widthwise direction by the aforementioned measuredshift dimension H₁.

It is preferable to detect the widthwise direction position of thetransfer film 20 after the positional correction by the widthwisedirection mark 23 and the first and second widthwise direction sensors31 and 32 after the movement of the transfer film 20, and detect thequantity of movement in the widthwise direction of the transfer film 20by a difference between the detected widthwise direction position andthe aforementioned transfer position in the widthwise direction beforethe positional correction detected as shown in FIGS. 5A-5C.

This quantity of movement is compared with the aforementioned shiftdimension H₁, and if they do not coincide with each other, then they aremade to coincide with each other by moving again the transfer film 20 inthe widthwise direction by the difference.

By the above operation, the positional correction can be achieved byaccurately moving the transfer film 20 in the widthwise direction by theshift dimension H₁.

If the pattern 21 transferred onto the molded article b in inclined asshown in FIG. 6C, the positional correction is carried out by moving theforward side and the rearward side in the lengthwise direction of thetransfer film 20, similarly to the aforementioned case. In other words,the shielding ratio to be gained by the first and the second widthwisesensors 31, 32 after the correction is calculated, and the transfer filmis moved such that the both sensors respectively gains the calculatedratio.

In order to thus carry out the positional correction of the transferfilm 20, it is required that a pair of widthwise direction sensors areprovided with a spacing in the lengthwise direction as described above,and that the film moving section is able to move the transfer film 20 inthe widthwise direction on the forward side and the rearward side of thedie as described above. The specific structure on this aspect will bedescribed later.

The aforementioned positional correction operation of the transfer film20 is automatically carried out by interlocking the transfer filmposition correction process with the molded article inspection process.Consequently, the positional correction of the transfer film isautomatically performed so as to determine the position of the transferfilm that allows correcting the pattern shift on the molded articledetected in the molded article inspection process, which eliminates theneed to suspend the transferring and molding process and enablesmaintaining the position of the pattern 21 at the appropriate position,on a plurality of molded articles to be successively produced.

For example, the shift dimension of the pattern 21 of the molded articleis detected as a first digital value in the molded article inspectionprocess, and the position where the transfer film 20 is supposed to beupon completing the correction is detected based on a second digitalvalue, and when both of the digital values coincide with each other,then the transfer film 20 is automatically stopped.

Specifically, the detected transfer position and shift dimension of thetransfer film 20 are inputted to a controller, and the controlleroutputs a control signal to the film moving section to move the transferfilm 20. The position of the transfer film 20 is sequentially detectedwith this movement, and the quantity of movement is calculated byfeeding the position back to the controller. When the shielding ratioaccords with the shielding ratio of the respective sensors that allowscorrecting the position shift calculated from the shift dimension, thefilm moving unit is stopped, to thus finish the correction of thetransfer film.

If the transfer film 20 is moved by the shift dimension in the directionopposite from the shift direction and the transferring and moldingprocess is subsequently carried out as described above, then the pattern21 can be correctly transferred in the prescribed position of the moldedarticle.

Even if the position of the transfer film 20 is corrected as describedabove, it is sometimes the case where the pattern 21 cannot be correctlytransferred in the prescribed position of the molded article.

To cope with the above-mentioned case, the position of the pattern 21 ofthe molded article that has undergone the transferring and molding isdetected again after carrying out the positional correction of thetransfer film 20, and the positional correction of the transfer film 20is carried out again when there is a shift. By repeating this operation,the pattern 21 of the molded article is correctly transferred in theprescribed position.

That is, it is preferable to carry out again the molded articleinspection process after carrying out the transfer film positioncorrection process and repetitively carry out again the positionalcorrection process of the transfer film 20 if there is a shift of thepattern 21 of the molded article.

In carrying out again the positional correction of the transfer film 20as described above, it is preferable to do as follows.

There is detected a difference between the shift dimension of thepattern 21 of the molded article that has undergone the transferring andmolding before the positional correction of the transfer film 20 and theshift dimension of the pattern 21 of the molded article that hasundergone the transferring and molding after the positional correctionof the transfer film 20.

Then, in carrying out again the positional correction of the transferfilm 20, the transfer film is moved by the aforementioned detecteddifference.

In the above description, a tolerance range is set for the shiftdimension of the pattern 21 transferred onto the molded article. Thepositional correction of the transfer film 20 is not carried out whenthe shift dimension falls within the tolerance range, and the positionalcorrection of the transfer film 20 is carried out when the shiftdimension falls outside the tolerance range. The tolerance range isarbitrarily set depending on the molded article. For example, thetolerance range is set within a value range of ±0.1 mm to ±0.05 mm.

It is sometimes the case where the range of tolerance in the lengthwisedirection position of the pattern transferred onto the molded article islarge or a similar case depending on the product. In this case, there isno need to carry out the positional correction in the lengthwisedirection of the transfer film 20, and therefore, neither the lengthwisedirection sensor 30 nor the lengthwise direction mark 22 is necessary.

Moreover, it is sometimes the case where the range of tolerance in thewidthwise direction position of the pattern transferred onto the moldedarticle is large or a similar case depending on the product. In thiscase, there is no need to carry out the positional correction in thewidthwise direction of the transfer film 20, and therefore, neither thefirst and second widthwise direction sensors 31 and 32 nor the widthwisedirection mark 23 is necessary.

In this embodiment, the film moving section is provided with the filmfeeding unit 10 and the film winding unit 11 and includes the first andsecond widthwise direction sensors 31 and 32. Further, the firstwidthwise direction sensor 31 is located a little closer to the filmfeeding unit 10 of the die (movable die 4) and the second widthwisedirection sensor 32 is located a little closer to the film winding unit11 of the die (movable die 4). Therefore, the film feeding unit 10 ismoved in the widthwise direction by controlling the first movementmechanism 12, and the film winding unit 11 is moved in the widthwisedirection by controlling the second movement mechanism 13. Further, theaforementioned operation is carried out in the widthwise directionposition detected by the first widthwise direction sensor 31 and in thewidthwise direction position detected by the second widthwise directionsensor 32.

By the above operation, the positional correction can be rapidlyachieved accurately in the widthwise direction by moving both the sideportions in the direction of movement of the transfer film 20 in thewidthwise direction with respect to the die (movable die 4) served as aboundary.

A specific configuration of the film feeding unit 10 will be described.

A bracket 40 is mounted on the movable platen 3, and the bracket 40 isprovided with a movable member 41 movably in the direction of movementof the movable platen 3. Further, a third movement mechanism 42 thatmoves the movable member 41 in the aforementioned direction is furtherprovided extended over the movable member 41 and the bracket 40.

For example, a threaded rod 42 a meshed with the movable member 41 isrotatably joined to the bracket 40, and the movable member 41 is set tomove in a moving direction of the movable platen 3 by tightening orloosening the threaded rod 42 a. Also, the movable member 41 is screwedto the threaded rod 42 a with the locknut 42 b.

The third movement mechanism 42 may be provided by one that rotates thethreaded rod 42 a by means of a cylinder or a motor and meshing a nutwith the feed threaded rod.

The movable member 41 is provided with a housing 43 movably in thewidthwise direction of the transfer film 20, and the first movementmechanism 12 is provided so as to move the housing 43 in the widthwisedirection with respect to the movable member 41.

A feed reel 44 and a feed roller 45 are rotatably supported to thehousing 43. The transfer film 20 is wound around this feed reel 44, andthe feed reel 44 is forwardly and reversely driven by a first motor 46.This feed reel 44 is provided by mounting a pair of flanges 44 b on ashaft 44 a and is removably mounted on the housing 43.

The first movement mechanism 12 is provided by mounting a motor 12 b ona guide frame 12 a and meshing a nut 12 d with a threaded rod 12 crotated by this motor 12 b so that the nut 12 d is made movable alongthe guide frame 12 a. The guide frame 12 a is fixed to the movablemember 41, and the nut 12 d is fastened to the housing 43.

The movable member 41 is provided with a guide frame 47, and a slider 48that moves along this guide frame 47 is fastened to the housing 43 sothat the housing 43 smoothly moves with respect to the movable member41.

With this arrangement, by forwardly or freely rotating the feed reel 44,the transfer film 20 is unwinded and fed from the feed roller 45.

Moreover, the feed roller 45 is moved in the direction of movement ofthe movable platen 3 together with the housing 43 by moving the movablemember 41 by the third movement mechanism 42. Therefore, space betweenthe parting surface 4 a of the movable die 4 and the transfer film 20can be adjusted by adjusting the feed position of the transfer film 20.

Moreover, the transfer film 20 wound around the feed reel 44 is moved inthe widthwise direction by moving the housing 43 with respect to themovable member 41 by the first movement mechanism 12. Therefore, thetransfer film 20 can be moved in the widthwise direction.

The transfer film delivered by the film feeding unit 10 passes throughbetween the dies 2, 4, and forwarded by the film tension mechanism 14.

A specific configuration of the film tension mechanism 14 will bedescribed.

The film tension mechanism 14 is provided with a driving roller 50 and adriven roller 51, and the driving roller 50 is rotatively driven by asecond motor 52. The driven roller 51 can be freely brought in pressurecontact with and separated from the driving roller 50. The transfer film20 is inserted between the driving roller 50 and the driven roller 51 inthe separated state, and a tension is given to the transfer film 20 byconveying the film 20 by the driving of the driving roller 50 put in thepressure contact state. At this stage, the feed reel 44 of the filmfeeding unit 10 is controlled by the first motor 46.

In this embodiment, the driving roller 50 and the second motor 52 aremounted on the first housing 53, while the driven roller 51 is mountedon the second housing 54.

The first housing 53 and the second housing 54 are pivotably joined toeach other, and an urging device of, for example, a spring 55 is mountedacross the first housing 53 and the second housing 54.

By removing the spring 55 and making the second housing 54 pivot in adirection in which it is separated from the first housing 53 (e.g.,downward), the driving roller 50 and the driven roller 51 are separatedfrom each other.

By mounting the spring 55 thereacross, the second housing 54 ispivotally urged in a direction in which the second housing 54 comescloser to the first housing 53, so that the driving roller 50 and thedriven roller 51 are brought in pressure contact with each other.

The film tension mechanism 14 (e.g., the first housing 53) is mounted onthe movable platen 3 via the second movement mechanism 13.

In this embodiment, a bracket 56 is mounted on the movable platen 3, andthis bracket 56 is provided with a movable member 57 movably in thedirection of movement of the movable platen 3. For fixing the movablemember 57 and the bracket 56, a fourth movement mechanism 58 isprovided, which attaches the movable member 57 to the bracket so as tomove in the moving direction of the movable platen 3.

For example, a threaded rod 58 a meshed with the movable member 57 isrotatably joined to the bracket 56, and the movable member 57 is movedby tightening and loosening the threaded rod 58 a. Here, the movablemember 57 is screwed to the threaded rod 58 a with the locknut 58 b.

The fourth movement mechanism 58 may be provided by one that rotates thethreaded rod 58 a by means of a cylinder or a motor and meshing a nutwith the feed threaded rod.

To the movable member 57, the film tension mechanism 14 is movablyattached in the widthwise direction of the transfer film 20, and thesecond movement mechanism 13 is provided for moving the film tensionmechanism 14 in the widthwise direction with respect to the movablemember 57.

As shown in FIG. 2, similarly to the first movement mechanism 12, inthis second movement mechanism 13, a motor 13 b is mounted on a guideframe 13 a, a nut 13 d is meshed with a threaded rod 13 c rotated bythis motor 13 b, and the nut 13 d is made movable along the guide frame13 a. The guide frame 13 a is fixed to the movable member 57, and thenut 13 d is fixed to the film tension mechanism 14 (first housing 53).

This second movement mechanism 13 and the first movement mechanism 12are not limited to the aforementioned ones and are allowed to beprovided by a combination of a cylinder or a motor, a threaded rod, anda nut, and so on.

With this arrangement, the transfer film 20 can be moved in thethickness direction by moving the film tension mechanism 14 in thedirection of movement of the movable platen 3, and the transfer film 20can be moved in the widthwise direction by moving the film tensionmechanism 14 in the widthwise direction of the transfer film 20.

The transfer film 20 is urged by the film tension mechanism 14 towardthe film winding mechanism 15, to be wound thereon.

A specific configuration of the film winding mechanism 15 will bedescribed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 7 through 9, the film winding mechanism 15 canfreely move into a film dismounting position in which the mechanism 15protrudes outwardly of an end portion 8 a (forward end 8 a in the movingdirection of the movable platen 3) of the apparatus main body 8 and afilm winding position inside the apparatus main body 8.

With this arrangement, the film winding mechanism 15 can be positionedinside the apparatus main body 8 during the molding operation, so thatthe mechanism 15 does not obstruct a person walking along the peripheryof the apparatus main body 8, or in a similar case.

Moreover, when dismounting the used transfer film 20, which is woundafter the transfer operation, the dismounting work can be carried out bymoving the film winding mechanism 15 outwardly of the apparatus mainbody 8, facilitating the film dismounting work.

In this embodiment, the film winding mechanism 15 includes an upper anda lower guide rails 60 attached in parallel to the apparatus main body 8(base plate 6) so as to extend in the film movement direction, and endportions of these guide rails 60 protrude outwardly of the end portion 8a of the apparatus main body 8. The guide rails 60 are connected to theapparatus main body 8 (base plate 6) with a connector 66.

The guide rails 60 have a hexagonal sectional shape as shown in FIG. 8,and are connected via a plate 68. The guide rails 60 are adjustable inlength and able to take a protruded posture in which the rails areprotruded from the end portion 8 a of the apparatus main body 8.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the guide rails includebase portion guide rails 60 a and tip portion guide rails 60 b connectedto the apparatus main body 8 (base plate 6) with a connector 66, and thebase portion guide rails 60 a and tip portion guide rails 60 b arebendably connected via a hinge 60 c. The hinge 60 c includes a firstpiece 81 and a second piece 82 pivotally joined to each other via a pin83, and the tip portion of the guide rail 60 b is attached to the firstpiece 81, while the base portion of the guide rail 60 a is attached tothe second piece 82.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9, the one side piece 81 has a pair ofpin bearing portions 81 a, and the other side piece 82 has aconfiguration that includes a movable plate 82 c having a pin bearingportion 82 b at its fitting portion 82 a. The pin bearing portions 81 aand 82 b are joined together via the pin 83.

When the base portion guide rails 60 a and the tip portion guide rails60 b are rectilinearly extended, the tip portion guide rails 60 bproject beyond the edge 8 a of the apparatus main body 8, thus topresent the protruded posture. When the tip portion guide rails 60 b arefolded, the tip portion guide rail 60 b are accommodated in theapparatus main body 8, thus to enter the retracted posture. Here, toenter the retracted posture, the tip portion guide rails 60 b may befolded to a direction opposite (i.e. upward in FIG. 7) to the arrow inFIG. 7. Such configuration allows reducing the portion protruding fromthe apparatus main body 8, by folding the tip portion guide rails 60 bto the same direction as the winding reel 61, to be subsequentlydescribed.

Providing the hinge thus constructed between the tip portion guide rails60 b and the base portion guide rails 60 a allows presenting theretracted posture by folding the tip portion guide rails 60 b at thehinge 60 c.

Also, in the example shown in FIG. 9, the hinge 60 c is fixed to theguide rail such that the pin bearing portions 81 a, 82 b are located onthe side where a movable member 64 is not provided, so as to allow theguide rail to be folded in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.7, and to thereby avoid the interference between the tip portion guiderail 60 b and the movable member 64.

Further, the guide rail 60 may have a telescopic structure, to presentboth the retracted posture in which the guide rail is accommodatedinside the apparatus main body 8 and the protruded posture in which theguide rail is projecting beyond the edge 8 a of the apparatus main body8.

Also, the base portion guide rail 60 a is provided with a bracket 67attached to the end portion opposite to the hinge 60 c, and a thirdmotor 62 is mounted on the bracket 67. The third motor 62 includes arotating member 63 rotationally driven by the third motor 62.

The guide rail 60 is provided with the movable member 64 that can movebetween the film releasing position and film winding position. Themovable member 64 is provided with a wheel 69 contacting the lower faceof the upper rail 601 and wheels 69 contacting the upper face of thelower rail 602, so as to be held between the guide rails 60 and thus tosmoothly move along the guide rails 60.

The wheels 69 attached to the movable member 64 have a dovetail groove,which fits the guide rail having a hexagonal sectional shape, andprevents the wheel 69 from falling off from the guide rail and shiftingin the widthwise direction of the guide rail.

The winding reel 61 is rotatably supported by the movable member 64 thatmoves along the guide rails 60, and a rotary disk 65 is attached to atip portion of the winding reel 61, perpendicularly to the rotation axisof the winding reel 61.

When the movable member 64 is at the film winding position indicated bythe imaginary line in FIG. 7, the winding reel 61 is driven to rotate bythe third motor 62, at the film winding position as shown in FIG. 8.

More specifically, when the movable member is located at the filmwinding position, the rotary disk 65 and the rotating member 63 of thethird motor are brought into contact, or preferably into pressurecontact with each other. When the third motor 62 is activated to drivethe rotary disk 65 to rotate, the rotational force is transmitted to therotary disk 65 because of the friction acting therebetween, thus causingthe winding reel 61 to rotate. In this embodiment, the rotating member63 is provided with a rubber ring 63 b attached to the outercircumferential surface of the rotary-disk 63 a, thus to increase thefrictional resistance.

A specific configuration of each sensor will be described.

The lengthwise direction sensor 30 and the first and second widthwisedirection sensors 31 and 32 are movable in the direction of movement ofthe movable platen 3 (thickness direction of the transfer film 20), thedirection of movement of the transfer film 20 (lengthwise direction) andthe widthwise direction of the transfer film 20, and are able to adjustthe position in the lengthwise direction according to the size of thepattern 21 of the transfer film 20 and the size of the dies, able toadjust the position in the direction of movement of the movable platen 3according to the size of the dies (size in the direction of movement ofthe movable platen 3), and able to adjust the position in the widthwisedirection according to the width of the transfer film 20.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a first movable member 71 ismounted movably in the direction of movement of the movable platen 3along lateral guides 70 mounted on each of the brackets 40 and 56, andvertical rods 72 are supported to each first movable member 71 slidablyin the direction of movement of the transfer film 20 (verticaldirection). A second movable member 73 is mounted on each vertical rod72, and each second movable member 73 is made movable in the verticaldirection.

A bracket 74 is mounted on this second movable member 73 movably in thewidthwise direction of the transfer film 20.

By mounting the light emitters 33 and the light detectors 34 on thebrackets 74, the lengthwise direction sensor 30 and the first and secondwidthwise direction sensors 31 and 32 are provided.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the first movable member 71 is fixedby tightening first screws 75, and the first movable member 71 is movedalong the lateral guides 70 by loosening the screws 75.

The vertical rods 72 are fixed by tightening second screws 76, and thevertical rods 72 are vertically moved with respect to the first movablemember 71 by loosening the screws 76.

As shown in FIG. 11, the bracket 74 is provided with a mounting piece 74a and a sensor mounting piece 74 b, and the sensor mounting piece 74 ais fixed by bolts 77 supported movably along a dovetail groove 73 a ofthe second movable member 73. When the bolts 77 are loosened, thebracket 74 moves along the dovetail groove 73 a in the widthwisedirection of the transfer film 20 with respect to the second movablemember 73.

The light emitter 33 and the light detector 34 are mounted on the sensormounting piece 74 b of each of the bracket 74, and a pair of guides 78that facilitate the insertion of the transfer film 20 between the lightemitter 33 and the light detector 34 are provided.

Regarding the attachment structure of the sensors shown in FIGS. 10 and11, since the attaching positions of the lengthwise direction sensor 30and the first and the second widthwise direction sensor 31, 32 aredifferent from one another, two structures that are horizontallysymmetric are provided, out of which the one shown in FIG. 11 is forattaching the first widthwise direction sensor 31, while the other forattaching the lengthwise direction sensor 30 and the second widthwisedirection sensor 32 has a structure horizontally symmetrical with thatof FIG. 11.

Hereunder, the control of the transferring and molding apparatusconstituted as above will be described. The transferring and moldingapparatus shown in FIG. 1 is driven under the control of a controlmechanism. As shown in FIG. 12, the driving mechanism includes acontroller 90, which receives an output signal including information onthe amount of received light from the respective light detectors 34 ofthe lengthwise direction sensor 30 and the first and the secondwidthwise direction sensors 31 and 32.

The controller 90 calculates the amounts of shift between the marks 22,23 and the respective sensors 30, 31, 32 on the basis of the inputtedquantities of received light, detects the transfer position (shiftdimension at the time of transfer) of the transfer film 20 as digitalvalues and stores the values.

The molded article “b”, onto which the pattern 21 has been transferred,is conveyed to the outside of the molding section of the dies by a robotarm 91. Subsequently, the shift dimensions L₁ and H₁ and the shiftdirection of the pattern 21 of the molded article are detected asdigital values in an image recognition unit 92, and the detected shiftdimensions L₁ and H₁ and the shift direction are inputted to thecontroller 90. This operation is carried out at any time. The operationis carried out, for example, every 500 times molding.

The controller 90 determines the necessity of positional correction ofthe transfer film 20 on the basis of the inputted shift dimensions.

When the controller 90 determines that the positional correction isrequired to be carried out by moving the transfer film 20 in thelengthwise direction, then the positional correction is carried out bymoving the transfer film 20 in the direction opposite from the shiftdirection in the lengthwise direction by controlling the driving of thefirst, second and third motors 46, 52 and 62 on the basis of thelengthwise direction shift dimension L₁ and the shift direction.

The lengthwise direction sensor 30 monitors the lengthwise position ofthe transfer film 20 based on variation of the amount of light receivedby the lengthwise direction sensor 30, simultaneously with the movementof the transfer film 20, and once the controller 90 detects that thetransfer film 20 has come to the position where the lengthwise directionshift dimension L₁ can be corrected, then the first, second and thirdmotors 46, 52 and 62 are stopped so as to stop the transfer film.

By this operation, the positional correction in the lengthwise directionof the transfer film 20 is completed.

If the controller 90 determines that the positional correction isrequired to be carried out by moving the transfer film 20 in thewidthwise direction, then the transfer film 20 is moved in the directionopposite from the shift direction in the widthwise direction bycontrolling the driving of the motors 12 b and 13 b of the first andsecond movement mechanisms 12 and 13 on the basis of the widthwisedirection shift dimension H₁ and the shift direction.

Simultaneously with this operation, the first and second widthwisedirection sensors 31 and 32 monitor the widthwise position of thetransfer film similarly to the aforementioned case, based on a variationof the quantity of light received, and once the controller 90 detectsthat the transfer film 20 has come to the position where the widthwisedirection shift dimension H₁ can be corrected, the motors 12 b and 13 bare stopped.

By this operation, the positional correction in the widthwise directionof the transfer film 20 is completed.

If the positional correction of the transfer film 20 ends as describedabove, then the transferring and molding operation is carried outseveral times. The operation is carried out, for example, six times.Subsequently, the molded article is conveyed to the image recognitionunit 92 similarly to the aforementioned operation, and the shiftdimension and direction of the pattern 21 of the molded article aredetected again and inputted into the controller 90.

If the controller 90 determines that positional correction is requiredto be carried out, the aforementioned positional correction operation iscarried out again.

In this case, there is detected a difference between the shift dimensionof the pattern 21 of the molded article “b” that has undergone thetransferring and molding before the positional correction of thetransfer film 20 and the shift dimension of the pattern 21 of the moldedarticle “b” that has undergone the transferring and molding after thepositional correction of the transfer film 20.

Then, the transfer film 20 is moved by this difference. For example, ifthe quantity of movement of the transfer film 20 detected as describedabove coincides with the aforementioned difference, then the motors 44,52, 65, 12 b, 13 b is stopped.

If the controller 90 determines that there is no need to carry out thepositional correction by repeating this operation, then the normaltransferring and molding operation is carried out.

The determination of the positional correction in this description ismade depending on whether or not the aforementioned shift dimension ofthe pattern 21 of the molded article is within the tolerance range.

In the case where there is a difference between the widthwise directionshift dimension H₂ on the forward side in the lengthwise direction andthe widthwise direction shift dimension H₃ on the rearward side in thelengthwise direction as shown in FIG. 6C, the pattern 21 is transferredaslant onto the molded article “b”. Therefore, the motor 12 b of thefirst movement mechanism 12 and the motor 13 b of the second movementmechanism 13 are independently driven, and the positional correction iscarried out by moving the forward side and the rearward side in thelengthwise direction of the transfer film 20 in the opposite directionin the widthwise direction.

In the above description, the operation of moving the transfer film 20for the positional correction may be carried out after moving thetransfer film 20 to the transfer position as usual or before moving thetransfer film 20 to the transfer position.

Further, in this embodiment, since a tension of the transfer film 20 isadjusted by controlling the braking force of the feed reel 44 and thedriving force of the driving roller 50, servo motors are employed as thefirst and the second motors 46, 52. For the winding reel 61, aninduction motor is employed since the winding reel 61 only serves tocollect the used transfer film 20. Also, when the film winding diameteron the winding reel becomes larger, it does not affect the tension ofthe transfer film 20 between the feed reel 44 (film feeding unit 10) andthe driving roller 50 (film tension mechanism 14).

It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to theforegoing embodiments, but various modifications may be made.

To cite a few examples, while the protruding direction of the marks isdetected by the sensors 30, 31, 32, and historic records of theshielding ratio are kept during the movement of the transfer film fordetecting the position and the shift direction of the transfer film inthe foregoing embodiments, alternatively two light emitters and lightdetectors may be provided to one sensor at different positions, so thatthe shift direction can be detected by comparison of the shielding ratioof the two light detectors.

Also, the detection of the pattern shift on the molded article by thepattern detection section may be performed at a desired frequency, andsuch detection frequency may be appropriately changed according to themolding condition. For example, after executing the positionalcorrection of the transfer film, the pattern shift detection may beperformed at a higher frequency, and then less frequently with the lapseof time.

Further, the information obtained through detection of the pattern shifton the molded article by the pattern detection section may be stored,and an average value of the accumulated information values may becalculated when a predetermined condition is satisfied, for example whena predetermined amount of information has been accumulated or when apredetermined time has elapsed, so as to execute the positionalcorrection of the transfer film based on the average value obtained.Executing thus the positional correction based on the average valueallows correcting the pattern shift at high accuracy over an entirety ofthe successive transferring and molding process. In other words, sincethe transfer position of the pattern is only slightly different amongthe molded articles produced through the successive transferring andmolding process, it is effective to store the first digital value and toperform the positional correction of the transfer film based on anaverage value thereof, thus to correct the position shift of the patternwith high accuracy over an entirety of the successive transferring andmolding process.

In addition, regarding the film winding unit 11, the film windingmechanism 15 may be disposed so as to be moved in the widthwisedirection of the transfer film by the second movement mechanism.

By properly combining any selected embodiments out of the aforementionedvarious embodiments, the advantageous effects appropriate to therespective embodiments can be equally attained.

Although the present invention has been fully described in connectionwith the preferred embodiments thereof with reference to theaccompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes andmodifications are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes andmodifications are to be understood as included within the scope of thepresent invention as defined by the appended claims unless they departtherefrom.

1. A transferring and molding method comprising: executing transferringand molding by positioning a transfer position of a transfer film bymoving the transfer film in a lengthwise direction of the transfer filmthat has a pattern and at least one of a lengthwise direction mark and awidthwise direction mark, holding the transfer film between a stationarydie and a movable die, and transferring the pattern onto a moldedarticle concurrently with injection molding of a molten resin into acavity located between both the dies closed to each other for formingthe molded article; obtaining a first digital value by detecting a shiftdimension and a shift direction of the pattern of the molded articlethat has undergone the transferring and molding; obtaining an amount ofshift of the mark in form of a second digital value; obtaining a valueand a direction, which are to be corrected a transfer position of thetransfer film, from both the first and second digital values; andcarrying out correction with film movement of the transfer film based onthe value and the direction to be corrected.
 2. The transferring andmolding method according to claim 1, wherein obtaining the seconddigital value includes utilizing a laser line sensor for detection; andobtaining position information of the transfer film located in thetransfer position, according to a shielding ratio of the mark providedon the transfer film located in the transfer position with respect tothe laser line sensor; and obtaining the value and the direction to becorrected includes calculating the shielding ratio of the mark providedon the transfer film located on a presumed position where the transferfilm is to be located after the correction, with respect to the laserline sensor.
 3. The transferring and molding method according to claim1, Wherein obtaining the first digital value includes generating animage of the molded article; and obtaining based on the image the shiftamount and the shift direction between the actual position of thepattern transferred onto the molded article and a reference positionwhere the pattern is supposed to be.
 4. The transferring and moldingmethod as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: executing, after thecorrection, transferring and molding by positioning another transferposition of the transfer film by moving the transfer film in thelengthwise direction of the transfer film, holding the transfer filmbetween the stationary die and the movable die, and transferring thepattern onto another molded article concurrently with injection moldingof the molten resin into the cavity of both the dies closed to eachother for forming the another molded article; obtaining a third digitalvalue by detecting again a shift dimension and a shift direction of thepattern of the another molded article that has undergone thetransferring and molding; when the detected third digital value isoutside a preset tolerance range, obtaining an amount of shift of themark in form of a fourth digital value; obtaining a value and adirection, which are to be corrected a transfer position of the transferfilm, from both the third and fourth digital values; and repeating thecorrection and the transferring and molding until the third digitalvalue falls within the tolerance range.
 5. A transferring and moldingapparatus comprising: an injection molding section for executing atransferring and molding operation by putting a stationary die and amovable die into a die closed state and a die open state and forinjecting a molten resin into a cavity of both the dies in the dieclosed state to form a molded article concurrently with transferringonto the molded article a pattern of a transfer film which has thepattern to be transferred onto the molded article and at least one of alengthwise direction mark and a widthwise direction mark; a transferfilm moving section for moving and positioning the transfer film in alengthwise direction thereof with respect to a die parting surface ofthe die of the injection molding section before the transferring andmolding operation and for moving the transfer film in at least one ofthe lengthwise direction and a widthwise direction of the transfer filmduring positional correction; a pattern detection section for obtaininga first digital value by detecting a shift dimension and a shiftdirection of the pattern of the molded article that has undergone thetransferring and molding operation; and a sensor section for obtainingan amount of shift of the mark in form of a second digital value,wherein the transfer film is moved in at least one of a lengthwisedirection and a widthwise direction of the transfer film by the transferfilm moving section based on a value and a direction to be correctedwhich are obtained from both the first and second digital values.
 6. Thetransferring and molding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein thetransfer film moving section includes a film feeding unit that feeds thetransfer film in a lengthwise direction thereof into between thestationary die and the movable die, a film winding unit that windsthereon the transfer film delivered from the film feeding unit, a firstmoving mechanism that movably supports the film feeding unit in awidthwise direction of the transfer film, and a second moving mechanismthat movably supports the film winding unit in a widthwise direction ofthe transfer film.
 7. The transferring and molding apparatus accordingto claim 5, wherein the sensor section includes a laser line sensor, soas to detect a shielding ratio of the mark provided on the transfer filmlocated in the transfer position with respect to the laser line sensorand to thereby obtain the second digital value representing the positioninformation of the transfer film located on the transfer position, andthe value and the direction to be corrected is obtained in a form of theshielding ratio of the mark provided on the transfer film located on apresumed position where the transfer film is to be located after thecorrection, with respect to the laser line sensor.
 8. The transferringand molding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the patterndetection section generates an image of the molded article, and obtainsbased on the image the shift amount and the shift direction between theactual position of the pattern transferred onto the molded article and areference position where the pattern is supposed to be.
 9. Thetransferring and molding apparatus according to claim 5, wherein theinjection molding section moves, after the correction, the transfer filmin a lengthwise direction thereof to determine another transferposition, and injects the molten resin into the cavity defined by thestationary die and the movable die closed to each other with thetransfer film held therebetween, so as to transfer the pattern ontoanother molded article concurrently with the molding; the patterndetection section detects a shift dimension and shift direction of thepattern of another molded article that has undergone the transferringand molding process so as to obtain a third digital value; the sensorsection obtains a fourth digital value representing the shift amount ofthe mark, when the detected third digital value falls outside apredetermined tolerance range; and the transfer film moving sectionrepetitively moves the transfer film for correction until the thirddigital value falls inside the tolerance range, based on the value andthe direction to be corrected, with respect to the transfer position ofthe transfer film obtained from the third and the fourth digital values.10. The transferring and molding apparatus according to claim 5, furthercomprising: a storage unit that stores a plurality of first digitalvalues obtained from a plurality of detections of the shift dimensionand the shift direction performed by the pattern detection section; andan average calculation section that calculates the average value of theplurality of first digital values stored in the storage unit; whereinthe transfer film is moved based on the value and the direction to becorrected with respect to the transfer position of the transfer filmobtained from the average value and the second digital value.
 11. Thetransferring and molding method as claimed in claim 2, furthercomprising: executing, after the correction, transferring and molding bypositioning another transfer position of the transfer film by moving thetransfer film in the lengthwise direction of the transfer film, holdingthe transfer film between the stationary die and the movable die, andtransferring the pattern onto another molded article concurrently withinjection molding of the molten resin into the cavity of both the diesclosed to each other for forming the another molded article; obtaining athird digital value by detecting again a shift dimension and a shiftdirection of the pattern of the another molded article that hasundergone the transferring and molding; when the detected third digitalvalue is outside a preset tolerance range, obtaining an amount of shiftof the mark in form of a fourth digital value; obtaining a value and adirection, which are to be corrected a transfer position of the transferfilm, from both the third and fourth digital values; and repeating thecorrection and the transferring and molding until the third digitalvalue falls within the tolerance range.
 12. The transferring and moldingmethod as claimed in claim 3, further comprising: executing, after thecorrection, transferring and molding by positioning another transferposition of the transfer film by moving the transfer film in thelengthwise direction of the transfer film, holding the transfer filmbetween the stationary die and the movable die, and transferring thepattern onto another molded article concurrently with injection moldingof the molten resin into the cavity of both the dies closed to eachother for forming the another molded article; obtaining a third digitalvalue by detecting again a shift dimension and a shift direction of thepattern of the another molded article that has undergone thetransferring and molding; when the detected third digital value isoutside a preset tolerance range, obtaining an amount of shift of themark in form of a fourth digital value; obtaining a value and adirection, which are to be corrected a transfer position of the transferfilm, from both the third and fourth digital values; and repeating thecorrection and the transferring and molding until the third digitalvalue falls within the tolerance range.
 13. The transferring and moldingapparatus according to claim 6, wherein the injection molding sectionmoves, after the correction, the transfer film in a lengthwise directionthereof to determine another transfer position, and injects the moltenresin into the cavity defined by the stationary die and the movable dieclosed to each other with the transfer film held therebetween, so as totransfer the pattern onto another molded article concurrently with themolding; the pattern detection section detects a shift dimension andshift direction of the pattern of another molded article that hasundergone the transferring and molding process so as to obtain a thirddigital value; the sensor section obtains a fourth digital valuerepresenting the shift amount of the mark, when the detected thirddigital value falls outside a predetermined tolerance range; and thetransfer film moving section repetitively moves the transfer film forcorrection until the third digital value falls inside the tolerancerange, based on the value and the direction to be corrected, withrespect to the transfer position of the transfer film obtained from thethird and the fourth digital values.
 14. The transferring and moldingapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the injection molding sectionmoves, after the correction, the transfer film in a lengthwise directionthereof to determine another transfer position, and injects the moltenresin into the cavity defined by the stationary die and the movable dieclosed to each other with the transfer film held therebetween, so as totransfer the pattern onto another molded article concurrently with themolding; the pattern detection section detects a shift dimension andshift direction of the pattern of another molded article that hasundergone the transferring and molding process so as to obtain a thirddigital value; the sensor section obtains a fourth digital valuerepresenting the shift amount of the mark, when the detected thirddigital value falls outside a predetermined tolerance range; and thetransfer film moving section repetitively moves the transfer film forcorrection until the third digital value falls inside the tolerancerange, based on the value and the direction to be corrected, withrespect to the transfer position of the transfer film obtained from thethird and the fourth digital values.
 15. The transferring and moldingapparatus according to claim 8, wherein the injection molding sectionmoves, after the correction, the transfer film in a lengthwise directionthereof to determine another transfer position, and injects the moltenresin into the cavity defined by the stationary die and the movable dieclosed to each other with the transfer film held therebetween, so as totransfer the pattern onto another molded article concurrently with themolding; the pattern detection section detects a shift dimension andshift direction of the pattern of another molded article that hasundergone the transferring and molding process so as to obtain a thirddigital value; the sensor section obtains a fourth digital valuerepresenting the shift amount of the mark, when the detected thirddigital value falls outside a predetermined tolerance range; and thetransfer film moving section repetitively moves the transfer film forcorrection until the third digital value falls inside the tolerancerange, based on the value and the direction to be corrected, withrespect to the transfer position of the transfer film obtained from thethird and the fourth digital values.